עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ comprises a
noun (‘ēzer, “helper”) plus a prepositional phrase (כְּנֶגֶד, kənegdô,
“equal”), “according to what is in front of = corresponding to.” Thus the word
translated as “help” has no hint of inferiority or subservience (Arnold, Genesis,
60) and “does not mean ontological superiority or inferiority. The word helper,
used for God sixteen of the nineteen times it appears in the Old Testament,
signifies the woman’s essential contribution, not inadequacy” (Waltke, Genesis,
88). “In the Bible God is frequently described as the ‘helper,’ the one who
does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, the one who meets our needs. In
this context the word seems to express the idea of an ‘indispensable companion.’
The woman would supply what the man was lacking in the design of creation. . .
. The man’s form and nature are matched by the woman’s as she reflects him and complements
him. Together they correspond. In short, this prepositional phrase [kənegdô,
“equal”] indicates that she has everything that God had invested in him.”
Biblical Studies Press, NET Bible, at Genesis 2:19. Eve is portrayed as
Adam’s saving grace, and she will be everything to him (reflected in the broad
semantic range of the verb help). Adam and Eve are given responsibilities
to cultivate, serve, preserve the garden and enter into marriage together before
God. See Keel and Schroer, Creation: Biblical Theologies, 117. The
separate yet synergistic relationship between Adam and Eve has been described
as follows: “Our Father knew exactly what He was doing when He created us. He
made us enough alike to love each other, but enough different that we would
need to unite our strengths, and stewardships to create a whole. Neither man
nor woman is perfect or complete without the other. Thus, no marriage or
family, no ward or stake is likely to reach its full potential until husbands
and wives, mothers and fathers, men and women work together in unity of
purpose, respecting and relying upon each other’s strengths.” Sheri L. Dew, “Not
Good for Man or Woman to be Alone,” Ensign, November 2001, 13. Eve will
become everything to Adam, and God is instructing Adam in these passages to
always remember what it means for her to be a daughter of God. (Aaron P. Schade
and Matthew L. Bowen, The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the
Latter Days [Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret
Book, 2021], 159 n. 32)
